Although Nintendo detailed the game's contents a little during its Treehouse live stream last month, we've received an early copy of the game so we can clear up any remaining confusion. Essentially, Ultimate NES Remix is a bit of a "best of" collection, featuring some but not all of the content from the previous two Wii U eShop titles, essentially making it a way for those with a 3DS but without a Wii U to try out a large portion of the two rather excellent titles.

It seems like the included games were based mostly on popularity, but in the end this is still existing content that's been excluded without anything new to replace it, which is quite disappointing. Naturally, any and all remix stages featuring elements from the omitted games have also been removed, which means that a handful of challenges that were mostly focused on titles present here — yet included some minor features from other games — have vanished as well.

Another feature that appears to be absent is Miiverse integration, which was quite prevalent in the Wii U releases. There is no way to post your own messages or see those from others next to each of the challenges, and as a result even the rather amusing collectable stamps are nowhere to be found. Each challenge offers no rewards other than stars to unlock additional challenge; that's a pity, and we can only hope for an update to remedy this in future.

To somewhat make up for this, every single challenge in the game now features its own online leaderboard, though the only lists you can display are those of your region and your friend list, meaning there is no worldwide section. In addition both of these only display the top 8 players, meaning you can't even find out — it seems — where you are if you're not near the top. Just like in NES Remix 2, however, it is possible to download and watch replays from the displayed players, which is a neat feature and useful when trying to improve your own performance.

In general terms pretty much all of the (included) content is exactly the same as it was on Wii U, but there are two additional game modes as well. Just like those who own both Wii U titles, Ultimate NES Remix includes Championship Mode, which lets you play three games in a Nintendo World Championships-style fashion, attempting to clear a short goal in each as quick as possible.

This is basically the same as it was before, but the other mode is where the difference lies — NES Remix 2 included an edited version of Super Mario Bros. where you played as Luigi and the entire game was mirrored, but Ultimate NES Remix instead features Speed Mario Bros., another edited version of the same game where the gimmick is that it moves at twice the original speed. This is arguably not as interesting as the Luigi version, but still quite fun — it makes dodging Goombas and jumping over pits surprisingly hard.

All in all, from what we've played so far, Ultimate NES Remix seems like it's perfect for those without access to the original Wii U releases of the games — despite this the fact that the game is called "Ultimate" when there's missing content is a little disappointing, especially when there's a Wii U retail release featuring 100% of both games on the horizon in North America. It could be a solid collection for 3DS owners yet to take the plunge with Nintendo's home console, however; we'll have an in-depth review closer to the game's release, so stay tuned.

Speed Mario Bros? That is the worst gimmick they could have come up with. Seriously, you're just going to bump the speed of the cpu in the emulator and call that a valid game? Luigi Bros was a clever idea. Speed Bros is just lazy.

Any of the other modifcations to the Mario games in the remix levels would've been better. A whole game where the platforms disappear every few seconds. A whole game where you have to keep collecting coins to stop the game from becoming a big pixelated blur.

Speed Bros is just urgh.

That said, I would still like a retail collection of the two Wii U titles. But this Ultimate release just seems incredibly lazy.

"Ultimate NES Remix seems like it's perfect for those without access to the original Wii U releases of the game"

I really don't see how. I'd rather play something as simple as an NES minigame collection on my 3DS than my Wii U for portability, and have to only buy one title instead of two. Keeping the best titles from both? Great. No MiiVerse integration? I don't ever use MiiVerse so for me this is a non-issue. Limited leaderboards seems a shame, but it beats not having any at all.

@ryanator008This person was asking if they use stereoscopic 3D in this game. Some 3ds games actually use 3d, others don't. Super Mario 3d land is heavily based on the use of 3d. Pokemon for the 3ds only uses 3d half the time, and One Piece Unlimited World Red for example uses no 3d. The answer to this persons question is no actually. It's been confirmed by another site that this game uses no 3d, not even in the menus. Audreypots' question had an actual purpose. Your answer did not.

It's too bad that more games didn't make it into the 3ds version, but no one will cry over missing titles like clu clu land and nes golf. Those challenges felt like the worst kind of filler that you had to slog through to 100% the game.

Keeping the replays is in the leaderboards is great; I would trade miiverse for leaderboards of any kind on the U version. If I didn't already have both titles I would definitely grab this on the 3ds. The minigame challenges seem more suited for handheld play anyway.

@waywardI actually found the games I was less familiar with much more satisfying. It was fun to play the ones I knew, but they were usually so easy that it was over quickly. Never knew the mechanics to Wrecking Crew as I skipped that when I was younger and that was an odd beast that I now understand much better. Clu Clu Land was also a fascinating spin on Pac Man that was more unique than I had first thought. Took some getting used to. The pinball challenges could be annoying though with what felt like luck for awhile.

I'd much rather play this on the Wii U, but my 3DS is just for playing games that aren't on it. It's more of a disappointment when they arrive on 3DS and not Wii U because they could be SO much better in every way.

Kid Icarus is great! But it's cramped and the graphics are so low res that you can barely tell what you are fighting half the time, and I can't share the experience with my kids because they can't see the screen (unless they are climbing on me, ouch) and the sound is low unless I shut the world out with headphones.

My kids and I LOVE playing Zelda games together. Sorry, not really possible with the otherwise excellent Link Between Worlds.

It's a pretty bad experience if you don't have a reason to game on the go.

Am I too old school to find that sharing experiences is 10x more fun than entertaining yourself alone?

Seeing as a retail packaging of both games will be coming out kind of soon for Wii U that will definitely be the version I will be getting. This version is a great alternative for those without a Wii U though.

Wow that's disappointing. I already own both on the Wii U & I was going to buy this for the leaderboards, speed mario & because I haven't finished either game on Wii U but now I'll only buy it if I can get it at a large discount. Limited online leaderboards (only showing off the top 8, seriously?!), no stamps, no new challenges, missing challenges & no miiverse messages make this an instant no buy. If only they would bring over Speed Mario to Wii U, my life would be complete

I got the first NES Remix on my Wii U with platinum rewards points and was pleasantly surprised. I was about to get the second one when I saw that they were coming out with the 3DS version and I think I will spend my money on this one instead (if they come out with a eshop version that is). I think the portability and the best of NES game challenges are perfect when I'm waiting while I'm on the go and I always enjoy having a bunch of digital games on my 3DS (reformatting a 64 gb card for my 3DS lets me have 20 3DS games on my machine right now without deleting anything or worrying about space). I think I'll pick this up on day 1.

So...nothing new and the actual remix part of the game isn't even present? I won't be buying it, as I already beat both the Wii U titles. I'm glad to see the likes of Wario's Woods and Clu Clu Land taken out, but IMO Ice Climber is so fiddly, especially on the smaller 3DS, that it should have been removed also.

I'm thankful you've cleared up the question of content though. I did wonder if it was anything new.

Hey JellySplat, I got banned from Miiverse too, I told some guy he was made of sugar. The admins on Miiverse are insane, people can't even say anything that's not rainbows and lollipops. It's crazy how strict Miiverse is. And yeah, I already rainbowed both games on my Wii U, I'm definitely passing on this one myself.

@MagikarpSplashI do not question your credibility as a fan, but, you asked the question so allow me to give you an answer.

I own both systems, and I'm very well aware of the differences between them and the advantages the Wii U has over the 3DS. For one, and this is by far the most important reason to own a Wii U- the exclusive games. Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Super Mario 3D World, DKC Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Zelda Windwaker HD, Bayonetta 1 and 2, New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Luigi U, Wii Sports Club Golf, Smash Bros U, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Captain Toad, and any number of the dozen exclusives coming in 2015. Not to mention the entire Wii back catalog.

Now, you might say "but I can play some of those games on 3DS" and true, you could. Smash is EXCELLENT on 3DS, as is Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. But, that's only two games that are exactly the same. And MH3U doesn't have online on 3DS, and Smash is a game best suited to the big screen. Now sure, 3DS has a side scrolling Mario, a Mario Kart, and a DKC, and they are all great games, but in each and every instance the Wii U release is a better game in every respect. And more importantly, a different game with different levels, different courses and different (and better) features.

In the end, The Wii U has a healthy number of exclusives not present on the 3DS, and even the games like Mario Kart or NSMB are completely separate entries, the better version of which is always on the Wii U. And even the few games that are exactly the same on both systems, are always better on Wii U with more features and better visuals.

Not to mention the Miiverse experience is rather lacking on 3DS, but not on Wii U. The Virtual Console is better on Wii U with many of the best GBA games and we'll surely see DS and N64 at some point.

So for me, it's not even a question. The Wii U is a must own system if you enjoy playing great video games. There's too many great games the system has that are not available on the handheld, too many franchises where the superior entry is on Wii U, and even the cross platform releases are always best on Wii U.

That may not be reason enough for you, but it's more than reason enough for me.

1.) It's proof that Ninty likes to BS it's fans since it was originally stated that NES remix was released on Wii U as opposed to 3DS because the 3DS supposedly couldn't handle the game.

2.) It's a wasted opportunity. If you are going to release a 'remix' game on a handheld, it has to make sense for the platform. Game Boy Remix would have been much more appropriate, and would have warranted a purchase. They could have even gone on to SNES Remix for Wii U, and then GBA Remix for 3DS next. Such wasted potential for this series already.

I was debating on getting the 3DS or Wii U retail copy. After reading this I will get the Wii U version. That being said if you don't own a Wii U this is a really fun and addictive game pick it up for the 3DS.